Page 67 of Intangible
“They think he’ll have somewhere around three hundred stitches when they’re finally done. He’s lost almost a third of his blood. Much more and he would have gone into shock.”
Knox turned to look at Thayer as she spoke from the corner of the room. She was curled up in a chair, looking exhausted.
“How is he still alive?” he asked her, receiving only a shrug of her shoulders. He took a step closer to the bed where Memphis laid covered in nothing but a sheet pulled up between his legs to his waist. His hair had fallen onto his forehead and Knox reached out automatically to brush it back.
“He’ll be okay, Knox. You know how tough he is,” Thayer said with a smile at the gentle gesture.
“Fuck yeah, he is. My little brother is no pussy,” Knox proclaimed quietly as he turned to look at her over his shoulder with a smile. Thayer snorted a small laugh, letting Knox know that she would be okay too.
“Let me take you back to the loft to get some sleep. I’m sure he’ll be out for a while.” He waited patiently while Thayer considered her options.
“No,” she said after a moment. “I think I’m right where I need to be.” Knox smiled at her, nodding once before he walked out of the room. Knox wasn’t surprised by her answer. She was right where she belonged. Wherever Memphis was. Knox knew she would choose to stay with Memphis, knowing she would love him into the next life with everything she had.
Knox walked back into the room carrying a chair.
“Mind if I sit with you while they finish?” he asked quietly.
“I would love that,” Thayer responded, watching Knox set the chair against hers in the tiny space. The big man sat down, pulling out his phone. Slumping down in the chair, he crossed one ankle over the other while checking his messages. “Knox?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“How did you find us?”
“Memphis found me in the park with Murphy.”
“Have you wondered how he did that when he didn’t have anything personal of yours?” Knox looked at her with confusion before turning his gaze back on his sleeping brother. How indeed?
“I think it has to do with the fact you share the same DNA. Maybe, it’s just a brother thing,” she added.
Thayer laced her arm around his large one, squeezing his hand as she laid her head on his shoulder. Without a thought, he leaned over, placing a kiss to the top of her head. A brother thing, shit, he liked the sound of that.
Memphis was resting quietly when they finally moved him to a room. It wasn’t much bigger than the curtained area in the ER, but at least it was private.
Thayer had been drifting in and out of sleep when the door slowly opened, bringing Knox to his feet in an instant. Easing into the room, Senator Kent looked over at his daughter in relief. Without a second thought, she jumped up, throwing herself into his arms. Folding Thayer against him, he held her close, looking over at Memphis.
“Christ,” he said quietly, taking in the stitches covering Memphis’ body. “I spoke to the doctor on the way here, but I had no idea it was this bad.” Holding Thayer away from him, he looked her over with concern etched on his face.
“Are you alright?” She nodded at him. Fortunately, she had changed into a pair of scrubs one of the nurses had been nice enough to bring her. Her other clothes had been covered in blood.
“I’m okay, Dad. If it wasn’t for Memphis, I don’t know what would have happened.” The senator hugged her closer. “I owe him everything,” she whispered.
“No,Iowe him everything,” he answered her. “Knox updated me on what happened. It seems you’ve found a good man, sweetheart. You stay with Knox. I’m going to go talk to someone about finding a better room with a cot for you. I would send you to get some rest, but I doubt your stubborn streak would allow that.” He smiled at her as Knox gently led her back to her chair.
Walking over to Memphis, the senator laid his hand gently on Memphis’ shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. Without another word, he left the room in search of someone in charge.
Knox knew that James Kent would leave no stone unturned to provide for Memphis’ recovery now. The senator had found someone he respected lying in that bed. A man who had summoned the last of his strength to save his daughter and he would be loyal to Memphis forever.
Knox returned to his seat next to Thayer. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her against him. He finally felt, even with Memphis drugged out of his mind in a hospital bed and Thayer looking more exhausted than he had ever seen her, he could truly breathe again.
He watched as Memphis’s chest slowly rose and fell in his sleep. Against all odds, his brother had turned out to be one of the best men Knox had ever known.
Thayer had finally told him everything that had happened. If Memphis hadn’t plunged that knife into the man’s back, she wouldn’t be sitting here snuggled up against him. With a sigh, Knox settled deeper into the chair, listening as Thayer’s breathing slowed into an easy rhythm with sleep.
Chapter 27
Knox knewhe should have been surprised to find the tall FBI agent from Washington, D.C. sitting in Memphis’ room when he walked in two days later.
His brother still looked like something out of an old horror flick and was doped up on painkillers, but at least he was awake now. Knox had finally convinced Thayer that Memphis would be fine if she returned to the loft at night to get some rest.
